An Introduction to Oculus Rift Room-Scale

Room-Scale Rift

An Oculus Rift room-scale set up would be extremely easy in a perfect world. It would also cordless and be able to cook you dinner. Unfortunately, we aren’t quite there yet. Luckily, a cordless Rift will be an option soon. The Rift cooking your dinner may or may not be obtainable, but we’re here to help you upgrade your Oculus Rift set up to room-scale easily and efficiently.

A room-scale Rift set up has been an ongoing discussion over its importance for quite a while now. When I first set up my Oculus Rift, I used 2 sensors for quite a few weeks. I was in bliss just experiencing virtual reality and never really considered if my set-up was ideal or not. Eventually, I dug deep into researching the topic to see what I could find. It turns out I wasn’t using my Oculus Rift to its maximum capabilities.

After some proper research, I concluded that a third sensor was the necessary step to get the most out of my VR experience. Although it’s possible to have a kick-ass time with only 2 sensors, a third is what really gave me those “wow” moments. Once my third sensor came in, I was excited to plug it in and get playing! Well, there was a problem. I never really considered how I was going to set up my third sensor. Like many of you, I had my 2 sensors on my computer desk. My desk playspace is about 2 feet by 2 feet. Yeah, not going to work for room-scale, is it? I improvised and realized my PlayStation 4 was in my living room about 15 feet away.

The Perfect Extender Cables For The Rift

These HDMI and USB extenders were lifesavers. I ended up buying 4 USB cables and 1 HDMI cable to give my Rift the proper length and freedom of movement needed for room-scale. I would highly recommend using those cables or ones just like them. People have reported all types of issues with extender cables that didn’t work properly. Luckily, I’ve had no issues with these. Remeber, you’re going to want at least 2 USB 3.0s.

Three Oculus Rift Sensors

After fooling around with possible set-ups, I chose the one outlined in the picture below. I ran the extension cables under my TV (ziptied for cable management) and placed the third sensor to the bottom-left of my playspace, diagonal to me and my top-right sensor. It took a decent amount of time to get everything situated correctly, especially with the guardian system. This “basic” 3 sensor set up works perfectly. It has helped my 360-degree motion tracking and occlusion for games like Echo Arena drastically. I have upped my playspace from 2 feet by 2 feet to just a bit more than 7 feet by 7 feet. I am now free to duck for cover, flail my arms, and experience the glorious room-scale perfection.

Four Sensor Set Up

If you are aren’t quite satisfied with this Oculus Rift room-scale set up, there are still other things you can do to squeeze out of it. Take a look at these 3D printed mounts if you’re an advocate of keeping your living room pretty. As these allow the sensors to be wall or ceiling mounted, they’re perfect if you have young ones or pets that frequently knock over your sensors. If you’re really feeling it, 4 sensor setups are real and they are truly awesome. Let us know your set up in the comments below!

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